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Sandra Brown never disappoints me. While not all of her stories have been five stars for me, they’re all highly worthy of a mention. Her newest is no exception.

Kerra Bailey’s career as a TV journalist has never been better. And to top it off, she’s managed to snag the interview that’s eluded all others. Major Franklin Trapper has shunned all publicity for the last several years. Now he’s agreed to meet with her, to tell his story as the reluctant hero of a horrific bombing many years ago. And the shocker for the audience? Young Kerra was one of the people the Major saved.

But somebody doesn’t want the story told. Fear of the case being reopened, maybe? Regardless, both the Major and Kerra find themselves with their lives on the line. Kerry escapes relatively unscathed, the Major isn’t quite so lucky. Joining forces with his estranged son plunges her deeper into the mystery of who’s to blame. And of course, romance happens. It wouldn’t be a Sandra Brown without steamy love scenes, after all.

This is what she does best, writing about murder and mystery and love. Another winner from this author!

*Note of interest* The kindle edition of this novel has the acknowledgements in the front of the novel. Those acknowledgements gave away a huge part of this novel. If you’re at all familiar with the synopsis, then it probably won’t give anything away for you…However, I hate to know anything other than the title of a novel before reading it, so I was a wee bit peeved at this oversight of the formatters. The DTB copy that I own has the acknowledgments at the end…WHERE THEY BELONG!!!

This novel…I loved it. I was so fascinated by it that I found myself trying to find out more about PG himself…and of how this story was inspired/loosely based upon his grandfather. Knowing these things…and well…because of the book itself, Harry Cale haunted me.

Other reviewers say PG’s writing is beautiful. I’m sorry…I didn’t see his writing as lyrical or beautiful. If you happen to read this review, Mr Gale, no offense meant! I promise! However, I found Harry Cale beautiful. I could hear the silence of his solitude. My ears were deafened by it. I believe Harry will haunt me for a very long time. I so much want to sit beside him. I want him to know how much I admire his strength and his sense of honor. I want him to know that he is not alone.

Yes, this story is interesting. It’s opened up conversations with me and other people. I just had to tell others about this book. It’s made me think. To try to imagine what society must have been like not so long ago. It has made me sad. It has made me admire. It has made me ponder what all of this meant to PG, the author. Has it shaped the man he was…or shaped the man he is…or is it shaping the man he hopes to become? I spent only several hours reading this novel…but I have spent countless hours thinking about it….

Yes, again, the story itself is wonderful. It’s interesting. No, I’m not going to tell you what the novel is all about…you should know by now that’s not how I do reviews! What I will tell you is that, no matter how wonderful and interesting the story is/was…Harry Cale is even more interesting and wonderful…

A while back, one of my book buddies told us that she was listening to a book in the Maiden Lane series. I’ve never heard of them, but she swore it was FANTASTIC. I like historical romances, so I figured I’d give it a shot. And guess what? I loved them. LOVE. What I loved most of all was that they all intertwined. I was so very tempted to skip to the one my friend was telling me about but she forbade from doing that. She said I must read in order. So I did.

This series has a a bit of intrigue mixed in, that makes you not want to put it down. Of course I’m all about the love and this series has an overabundance of that. The best part of this is that, just when you think the secondary characters are just for fillers, they end up getting a book themselves. It’s so exciting! I start to think, “Is he going to be with her?” Or even, “Why isn’t he doing anything?” I know who I want to end up with whom, but I have to sit and be patient. In my reading I’m finding myself asking my friends if so and so will be in later books, just to keep me happy. I want all their stories!

I realize this is a horrible review, cuz I’m not being very specific, but if you like historical romances, I highly recommend this series. Also, I’ve heard that the audible are super hot. So if you have extra credits, grab a book or two and see what ya think. I’ve read the first 7 books and I’m currently reading book 8. I think this one is going to tug at my heartstrings a bit. And I can’t wait!

This was an okay read for me. Not a brilliant read, but certainly not a rotten one either. I can easily imagine having rated the book higher if I were more familiar with Hamish and his very quirky acquaintances. I love thriller crime stories, but perhaps murder mysteries of the good old-fashioned Agatha Christie style just aren’t really my cup of tea…However, since I’ve never actually read Agatha Christie I can’t really say that for a fact…

I did read enough to know that I would like to go to the start of the series and see if I can fall in love with Hamish as I see so many other fans have. I do see his appeal, however, coming into his entire weaponry of charm (hahahahaha) unprepared was perhaps my downfalling. I think I needed to gradually introduce myself to him and all of his charms…not just jump in buck naked and unprotected**….

**I hope you note my sarcasm and see that although I didn’t rate this book as high as I might have that I am very much worthy of learning up enough to become an avid fan

I haven’t read Sandra Brown in years. This book is a big reminder that I shouldn’t overlook authors just because I’ve read them and because they are well known….yes, there are some authors out there that I believe have gotten lax over the years and taken their popularity for granted, not putting out their best efforts, however, Brown has shown me in this novel that she isn’t one of them.

From the very first chapter, I couldn’t read fast enough to hear all of Crawford Hunt’s story. Hunt is a Texas Ranger that is seeking back custody of his five-year old daughter, Georgia. After an unexpected episode happens during the custody proceedings, Ranger Hunt finds himself as the rescuer of the sitting family court Judge Holly Spencer. Once this happens the action never stops.

I loved this book, but I couldn’t help to be to look for some unexpected twist. Some hidden motives behind the obvious that made some of the characters act out the way they did. That never really happened. However, that doesn’t mean I was disappointed. Sometimes, as in real life, people hold onto the past and let it dictate how they act in the present. So although I found some of the storyline a stretch, in other ways, I found that maybe at the end of the day, those stretches, in fact, kept the story real to life.

I believe Ranger Hunt’s behavior in the past was a bit “gun-ho” and, indeed, reckless. As much as it pains me to say, I found his behavior, many times, in this book the exact same way. I couldn’t believe how he handled some of the situations. TBF, yes, it would have been nice to see that he was less reckless now as the years went on…but is life really that way? I don’t imagine he will ever change. He will always be reckless, however, his heart is often in the right place, and his intentions always seem to be. The fact that I even say that about a fictional character just points out how much I really enjoyed this book!

Whilst I didn’t think Judge Spencer acted reckless in her past, I did find some of her behaviour in the present a bit reckless. Having said that, I can’t exactly say I wouldn’t have acted the exact same way if I were in the same situation. At the end of the day there were several characters I really enjoyed in the novel. I genuinely wanted things to turn out okay for them as well.

Bottom line, I started this book and couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Once I finished the novel I was sad that my adventure was over and I was already worried about trying to pick up another book that would leave me half as satisfied as this one did.

If you’re a Sandra Brown fan this book will not disappoint you. If you’ve never read Sandra Brown, this book should convince you to become a fan. Finally, if you’re like me and just a lax fan that’s been away for a few years, this book will remind you of what a fun writer she is! Don’t hesitate, run out and grab your copy now!!!

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review

This was a fun book to read. I love the way that Seth Grahame-Smith writes and have enjoyed several of his books.

Although it’s described as the sequel to Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, it actually serves as a prequel as well. We get a good look at Henry Sturges in his pre-vampire era and find out how he came to be. There’s an excellent description of what happened after the conclusion of the previous story that was very satisfying to me as a reader. And, we find out that many of the major events, tragic ones especially, in our world’s history had the influence of vampires woven all within their thread.

A minor note on a personal level-this one was a bit harder for me to fall into and then to follow along with because it does bounce around a bit more than the earlier book. Still, the historical events are so accurately written about with Henry easily part of the story that it’s a book I would definitely recommend!

What if you had a second chance? What would you do? Would you take it?

When I heard Rebecca Donovan was writing another book, I was very excited to read it, and yet kinda nervous. The Breathing Series was the most gut wrenching series I ever read, and probably one of the most difficult series to finish. I was a wreck afterwards. Beautifully written, but it destroyed me. When I read the synopsis of What If, I was very intrigued. I knew I had to read this. But when I started this, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was completely taken back.

This is a story about four friends. It’s about what happens when life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. It’s about loss and heartbreak. It’s about friendship that can withstand anything. It’s about love.

When Cal was young he had three girls on his street, Rea, Richelle and Nicole. They did everything together. Until day, out of the blue, Richelle and her family moved away and Nicole stopped talking to him and Rea. They had no idea what happened and no matter what they did, they never got answers. But one day, Cal is drinking coffee and looks up to see Nicole sitting near him. But this girl isn’t Nicole. This girl is impulsive and outrageous, nothing like the quiet and reserved Nicole, from his past. He finds himself drawn to her in ways he doesn’t understand. And soon he finds out why. Not everything is as it seems.

Nicole is a perfectly wrapped present tied in a nice neat bow. And Nyelle is wrapping paper strewn across the floor on Christmas morning.

As we slowly see Nyelle’s story, you realize her life is way more painful than you ever thought. My heart was tearing apart bit by bit. The secrets she was keeping, would’ve made a weaker person crumble.

“Then…let the stars take it away and make everything better. And when the sun comes up, and those stars disappear, they take all the hurt with them.”

I did, however, loved watching Cal completely fall for Ryelle. And to watch her give into him, was so sweet. She didn’t want to, but sometimes, the heart has no choice. They needed each other, more than they ever knew.

“Holding your hand. It makes me feel like there’s a butterfly beating in my chest. There’s something about it that helps me believe everything’s going to be okay.”